In the last couple of years the fourth wall hasn’t been broken, but rather smashed up with a sledgehammer and chucked in skip. We were all charmed when Fleabag first looked us in the eyes, but now, a Michaela Coel and a Billie Piper later, even the skip has gone to landfill. The BBC have released another woman-having-a-breakdown series, this time she’s completely Out of Her Mind.
Sara Pascoe plays Sara Pascoe, a single woman as intellectually sharp as the knives she doesn’t own – cutlery is so 2019 – reeling after being dumped by her fiancé fifteen years ago. Add to this some daddy issues, a pregnant best friend and a wayward mother, and you’ve got quite the meltdown cooking. Naturally, she’s won’t go down without making some hard-hitting points about the struggles of modern womanhood. Whilst a lot of these come in the flurries of her emotional turmoil, Pascoe packs a real punch when the silliness slows and things get deep. And despite the gloomy premise the show somehow remains cheerful, largely thanks to the brilliant Juliet Stevenson, who plays Sara’s wino mum.
In The Times Ben Dowell says Out of Her Mind “felt a little self-indulgent at times,” but remained “strangely joyous despite all the loneliness and reflections on failed love.” The Guardian’s Lucy Mangan says this series is part of a “quiet but genuine revolution,” calling it a “fine addition to a rising tide of talent that was until now rarely allowed to cause much more than a ripple.” Helen Brown in The Telegraph calls the series “punchy and clever,” praising Pascoe for “stripping away centuries of shame and secrecy.”
First shown October 2020. You can watch the trailer by pressing play on the show image, or by clicking here.
